With just a little effort you can easily bypass the rather silly
anti-European attitude that Sky, the BBC, C4 and other EC broadcasting cartel
members suffer from and you'll soon be enjoying the delights (if that's the
word <grin>) of UK TV on the continent.

If after reading this little guide you still don't have the slightest idea
what it all means then you can post a message in
alt.satellite.tv.europe where you
should find some more help. You can post there too if you found this guide
informative, incorrect, incomplete or just plain inane. I shall appreciate it
either way and it will help me when I revise this page. If you find the whole
subject of satellite absolutely fascinating and you want to learn a lot more
about it then you will find plenty of web sites that deal with the topic. I can
recommend the Satcure site for starters. See below for links.

There is a lot to read on this page so, to save time and money, you can go
off line to read it or save it on your hard drive.

LATEST NEWS

FTV cards are no longer being issued and the BBC channels no longer require
a card or Sky digibox to be viewed. See below. Currently ITV, C5 and C5 still
require a card.

Sky are in the process of reissuing all viewing cards. This should be completed by mid-2003.
Be aware that if you have a used digibox that was sold to you with a used
card for the FTV channels then this card will not be automatically replaced
and may soon stop working.
For this reason you should never pay extra for any digibox that comes with an
existing card.

When your replacement card is received just remove the old card and insert the replacement one.
The replacement card will activate itself without any phone call being
necessary.

All satellite receivers are equipped with scart sockets these days. Your
foreign TV probably has them as well unless it came out of the Ark. Use just
these special sockets and cables to interconnect your satellite receiver, TV
and VCR and it will all work just fine as long as your TV and VCR can handle
the PAL standard. Only old French equipment is unlikely to handle this. If
you're an expatriate Brit (or an ex-patriot as they are sometimes amusingly
miss-spelt) then you can also use your old UK TV and VCR though you probably
won't be able to receive local TV with them (you may consider this to be an
advantage).

Sky Digital is fairly new (launched October 1, 1998) but take-up has been so
good that Sky have stopped the analogue service already.

Sky digital and Sky analogue are broadcast from two different satellites and
each requires a totally different type of receiver. Dishes are compatible with
both systems but older LNBs (pre-1997) may not be suitable for digital.

You will need to check out whether you will be able to receive the programs
that you wish from where you live with the dish size that you have. You will
find the all the Astra 2 beams (and those of other satellites) on
the Lyngsat site. It is
important to check that you can receive all the beams you need at your
location, especially for digital (some Spanish, Greek and Italian residents may
have problems with some channels in this respect though the signal is generally
strong enough throughout central and northern Europe). The new Astra 2D
satellite has a tighter footprint that is significantly weaker outside of the
UK, Benelux and France and this may prevent some people from receiving channels
that use this satellite, like ITV and the BBC who have recently moved to this
satellite. Read about specific 2D issues on http://www.astra2d.cjb.net/.

Only "Sky" digiboxes can receive encrypted Sky Digital transmissions, which
currently
include the digital services from ITV, C4 and C5. No other type of
digibox will do so nor is there any at the moment any type of decoder module
that can be fitted to other digital receivers to enable this. Although it is
technically simple it is strongly resisted by Sky for commercial reasons. The
BBC does also transmit on the Sky Digital platform but since July 10 2003 their
services are FreeToAir, which means that any digital satellite receiver can
receive them.

Sky Digiboxes are currently manufactured by Pace, Amstrad, Panasonic and
Thomson. Sony and Grundig also used to make Sky digiboxes. There may be other manufacturers in the future. Currently all
Sky Digiboxes are built to similar specifications and offer the same features
though this may change in the future. Minor exceptions include the optical
audio output on Sonys and the S-Video (S-VHS) output on some Grundig models.
The only major difference that is evident between brands is the speed of the
on-screen graphics display. For this Panasonic is the unquestioned leader.
Residents of very far-flung areas of Europe (like southern Portugal and Spain
and in Scandinavia) may also do better with a Panasonic model 30, Sony model
750 and Grundig model 310/2 than with the other brands as the tuners on these
are a more sensitive model.

After-sales service policy varies greatly from brand to brand and Pace,
Panasonic and Grundig seem to offer the cheapest replacement service for faulty
boxes. Amstrad apparently offer no service of their own though Satcure and
others can fix the most common Amstrad model 100 tuner fault for around
£50.

I suppose that you can only choose the brand that you like the look of and
have the most faith in.

Your UK based friend will need to buy a Sky Digibox and get a card. Sky
despatch the cards separately by post once you have sent them a subscription
form. You can get a subscription form sent to a UK address by calling 08702
404040 from within the UK. Subscription prices vary currently from £12 a
month for a very minimal set of channels through £16 for a wide choice of
general channels to £37 for all films and sport. Check out
Sky's website for details. The
other big advantage of Sky Digital is that it carries BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4 and
C5. There is no requirement to subscribe to Sky to buy a digibox or to receive
the BBC though at the time of writing there is no way for new viewers to receive
ITV, C4 and C5 without a subscription, even though these channels are free.

The subsidies.

UK purchasers of a Sky Digital receiver can benefit from a one time only
subsidy that reduces the cost of a new box to nearly nothing.

One of the conditions of the subsidy is that you keep the box connected to a
UK phone line for a year. If you're intending to use the box abroad then you
won't be able to fulfil this condition so you will have to pay the full price.
Full-price boxes are sold for between £200 and £300.

Don't be tempted to cheat by using a subsidised box abroad as Sky will check
the phone line and if yours isn't connected then you may be switched off
pending a wrist smacking and repayment of the subsidies. Those who are keen to
save the most money and are in no hurry to use their box outside the UK will
take the full subsidy and installation and keep the digibox installed in the UK
for the minimum 12-month period. After this time it can be permanently
disconnected from the phone and, of course, removed to anywhere you wish. This
is the best deal you will find.

You do not need to take out a Sky subscription at the time of buying
the digibox if you don't want to (see BBC channels below).

A special small (35cm) dish and LNB may be included in the full price of
the digibox and Sky consider this to be adequate in many parts of the UK. You should
think about using a larger
(up to 1.2m or more, depending on your location) dish to ensure good reception in poor
weather.

Installation of unsubsidised boxes by a registered dealer is now no longer
obligatory and you should have no trouble finding new digiboxes for sale at
specialised satellite shops and by mail order. In theory chain stores like Dixons and even Sky
themselves will sell a full priced box over the counter without installation.
You may have trouble trying to actually do it through them though.

Remember that dealers aren't supposed to sell receivers for use
outside the UK though they are usually helpful.

Another option is to buy a used digibox. Prices
are obviously variable but this market is very lively with boxes changing hands for anything from £20 to
£200. Places to look are Loot, online auction sites and local car boot
sales etc. See below for links. Don't pay extra for a viewing card as these
are not transferable and if a new one is issued you will not automatically
get a replacement. Beware of online fraudsters.

The subsidies/contracts are not transferable so any second-hand box can be
used without the phone connection. Sky/BIB however will not know that a
subsidised box has been sold if it is still within the first year and so they
may switch it off pending investigation though there have been no reports of
this actually happening. Be sure to get a full receipt for any used box
purchased and preferably try to get a copy of the original proof of purchase as
stolen boxes are traceable in theory.

Sky will definitely issue cards for second-hand and/or full price boxes
though the telephone staff (and their billing software) aren't at all
accustomed to it. Persevere and ye shall succeed. (Be warned, it may take you
months to get a contract out of them though usually there is no delay.)
There are no extra charges or requirements other than the regular monthly
payment and the 12 month minimum subscription period.

Aligning the dish onto Astra 2 at 28° East will be more difficult than
aligning a regular analogue receiver and dish as the digibox has some fairly
powerful error correction circuitry which may make you think you have a good
signal when in fact you haven't. You should use an alignment meter for this
job, which is anyway probably best left to someone who knows exactly what he's
doing.

Once the digibox is set up you should be able to see Sky News (ignore the
"please insert your card" message and just tap in 501, or use the
TV Guide button) and some other
channels like QVC without inserting the card. You should also be able to see
the BBC channels on 101, 102, 115, 116 and 508.With the card in (assuming that
your box/card is already authorised) then you should be able to see all the
channels that you are paying for. If the card is not yet authorised then you
will be able to see channel 998 if the card is valid and this is a good test.

If your card hasn't been previously authorised then you need to follow this
procedure:

Line up the dish and ensure that signal quality is as high as
possible. Signal strength is less important. Pay special attention to
the LNB skew. Check the quality from the services menu: push "services - 4
-6". You should be getting at least 50% gray in the second bar. Once a
good signal is being received do a software reload by unplugging the box from
the mains and then plugging it back in whilst holding in the "back
up" button on the fascia for about 15 seconds until a message about
reloading software appears on the TV screen and all the lights on the front of
the digibox go on (very pretty). You will not see the message unless you are
using a scart connection. Then release the button. Wait until this procedure is
finished (about 10 minutes) at which time the box will reset itself and then
restart the box by pushing the blue Sky button on the remote.

Put the box on Sky News (501) and leave the thing alone. Get your UK contact
to ring Sky on 08702 404040 and ask for the card to be switched
on. You will need to give your name, UK address, your subscriber number and the box serial and version
numbers and the card number. These last can be found in the digibox services menu: push
"services - 4 - 5".

Over the next few hours you can try tapping in "106" from
time to time. Do not attempt to change channels using the channel up/down
function. Do nothing else at all to the box. Once the card is activated the
box will switch to Sky One when you tap in "106". Until then it will
just say "channel unavailable".

The signal is usually sent quite quickly and most channels will decode
within a few minutes though this can stretch to hours or days on occasions.

If your box and card are unused for some time (several weeks) you may find
that your card has "forgotten" its authorisation when you switch it
back on. Don't worry. Leave the box on Sky News for a few hours and the card
should wake up all on its own.

There is one other option available to you. The BBC now broadcast without
encryption and so their channels can be received using any DVB compliant digital
satellite receiver. See your local dealer for recommendations and dish sizes.
ITV, and C5 used to be receivable with a Sky Digibox and a free "FTV"
card as issued for several years by the BBC. At the time of writing these FTV
cards are no longer being issued and if you don't already have one then you
will need to subscribe to Sky in order to watch these channels. If you have
a Sky Digital viewing card with a blue cloud/sky design and the words "Sky
Digital" on the front then this will probably serve to decode the FTV channels
for some time. If you have a viewing card with a very dark blue front and a
yellow "house" design then this will probably decode the FTV channels
for several years. It is quite likely that some replacement scheme for FTV
cards will be introduced in the future. Or maybe the remaining FTV channels
will also go FTA.

The BBC TVservice is intended for use by those in the UK who have already
paid their UK TV licence fee. If you don't have a UK TV licence yourself you
should get your friend to buy another one in your name. It's only about
£2 a week and I expect that you'll consider it a good deal compared
to whatever foreign trash you're receiving in Europe in return for the licence
fee that you're paying there.

Buying a UK TV license will help the BBC to carry on producing the
programmes that you obviously think are worth viewing as you're going to all
this trouble to do so. So buy one - it's only fair.

All national UK radio channels are all available FTA on Sky Digital. Commercial national radio services are also
available FTA, except for TalkSport, which is available on subscription to
SkyDigital. Other radio services are also available - for a complete list of
all channels see the Sky
Digital FAQ.

When you buy a Sky digibox you have the option of accepting a subsidy. Why?

Sky offer some 'interactive' services such as home banking and shopping. In
order for this to work at all your digibox must be connected to a telephone to
allow you to 'interact' with the service that you are interested in. To be sure
of having a reasonable number of potential users of this service Sky decided to
subsidise the purchase cost of the digibox as long as you agree to the digibox
being connected to your phone for 12 months.

To help you stick to your part of the bargain Sky require that your digibox
be fitted by a specially authorised installer. This install costs from £1
to £120 depending on who does it and on which subscription package you
take. After installation Sky will periodically get your digibox to dial out to
a number that is currently free to check that the box is still connected to the
phone. In addition the digital contract states that if your digibox is
connected to the phone then Sky may use it to transmit "information"
back to them. This information is to do with Pay Per View (PPV) programming and
possibly other things.

The important thing to remember is that the phone connection is entirely
optional as long as you don't take the box subsidy. If you take the subsidy the
connection is obligatory for one year. All of the current Sky TV service (PPV,
Movie Channels, Box Office etc.) is available to those who don't wish to have
the phone connection to the digibox. Everyone can receive all channels and all
programmes without a phone connection by using a regular telephone to order
these PPV programmes in the usual way. If you do not wish to order extra PPV
programmes then you do not need to have a telephone at all to receive the Sky
service.

The interactive services also work without the phone connection to a certain
extent. None of the shopping features are useable without it though.

You should be aware that for having dared to do the above both you and your
UK friend may get a visit during the night from members of the Sky management
team equipped with baseball bats.
In fact this won't happen though some people seem to think that it ought to.
Why, I don't know as viewing Sky TV in Europe with a fully paid up subscription
is hurting no one, least of all Sky.

The legal situation appears to be this:

There are no restrictions at all on the export or use of a Sky digibox
outside the UK.

When you or anyone else fills in the Sky Digital subscription form you
undertake to comply with the following conditions (amongst myriad others):

(c) Only you may use the Viewing Card that SSSL sends you. You can only use
the Viewing Card at your Address with the Digibox in which it is first used to
receive the Service and you must only use it for private viewing purposes.

and

(b) This Contract only applies if you live in the United Kingdom.

Whilst I am not a lawyer (thankfully <grin>) I take this to mean that
by passing on the card to someone else for him to use or by using it (as
opposed to merely having it which does not appear to breach the contract)
elsewhere than at the address specified in the contract you are breaking the
terms of the contract. This is not a criminal offence and the contract goes on
to say that a breach of the contract will merely result in its cancellation.
It has been suggested on Usenet that anyone who deliberately and incorrectly
fills in the subscription form knowing that the card will be used in breach of
the contract may be guilty of obtaining a service by deception which is a
criminal offence in the UK. You should bear this in mind, especially if you
get a friend to subscribe for you.

Given that it is absolutely impossible to know where or when a card
is being used (assuming that there is no phone connection and that you are not
stupid enough to tell Sky where you are) then you can calculate for yourself
the probability of any of this ever being found out.

Just in case you're worried, a large number of Sky subscribers live abroad
anyway. You probably know a few of them yourself.
After all, do you think that Sky are likely to want to lose this source of
revenue? I don't. You can all sleep soundly.
I do. <grin>

I can't emphasise this too much. If you want to contact Sky (because your
card doesn't work or to buy a PPV programme or whatever) then you should give
your friend in the UK a call and get him to do it for you. This is totally
reliable and safe. You may be able to side-step this by using a UK
registered mobile from abroad or by using a call-back service or other third
party operator or a 3-way call originating from the UK but then again, maybe
not. If you call Sky direct on a landline they will know that you are calling
from abroad and they may switch off the card and box that you have gone to so
much trouble to get. The choice is yours. I know what I'd do.

A disclaimer:

This page is not intended in any way to help or assist people to receive any
channel without paying for it. Nor is it intended to encourage people to do
anything at all that might be illegal. It is intended to explain to
people that have already decided to do so how to subscribe to the channels that
they wish to see regardless of where they live. This is their moral right
(under the articles of the Treaty of Rome) and their legal right (under EC
rules which were subsequently illegally modified, amended and then ignored).

If you feel at all strongly about the impossibility of straightforwardly
subscribing to the channels that you wish to see then complain to your
UK MP and/or
MEP. It's about time that he did something for you instead of just filling
his pockets with tax-free groceries, isn't it?

A message to all EU broadcasters, including Sky and the remaining FTV UK
broadcasters, and to all EU
bureaucrats: Get your act together and apply the principles of freedom of
movement of goods and services throughout EC member states as you should be
doing. Your lack of integrity in this matter is sickening.